rosa parks held an elected office. she possessed no fortune, lived her life far from the seats of power. yet today she takes her rightful place on those who shape this nation scores. i think all those persons, particularly members of the congressional black caucus, both past and present for making this moment possible. [applause] a childhood friend once said about ms. parks, nobody ever prospers around and got away with it. that's what an alabama driver learned on december 1st, 1955. 12 years earlier, he had kicked mrs. parks office bias simply because she entered through the front door when the doctor was too crowded. he grabbed her sleeve and push her off the bus. they made her mad enough she would recall that she avoided writing his bus for a while. and when they met again that winter evening in 1955, rosa parks would not be pushed. the driver got off his seat to insist she took her purse, she would not be pushed. when he threatened to have her arrested, she simply replied, you may do that. and he did. a few days la